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Originally Posted by luthersomd I define open primaries to mean that ballot positions are usually very competitive and their are numerous candidates. I define closed primaries to mean that ballot positions are selected more by the party and that their is little or no competition. |
I'm pretty sure those are not the definitions used by the parties and election boards. They define open primaries to mean that independent or nonaligned voterrs can participate. They define closed primaries to mean that only registered party voters can participate.
You have a point about competitive versus noncompetitive primaries. It's probable that in some races, the party candidates are chosen ahead of time by party bigwigs, simply as an attempt to preserve party unity.